Sargassum seaweed causes fish kill in St Andrew  

Authorities are investigating a fish kill in the Greenpond at Morgan Lewis Beach, St Andrew.

According to Minister of Maritime Affairs and Blue Economy Kirk Humphrey, who toured the area today with other ministry officials and the top brass of the Coastal Zone Management Unit, preliminary evidence indicates that the fish in the pond are dying from the sargassum seaweed that has been pushed into major coastal wetlands by significant sea swells.

“So, between the salt water and the sargassum seaweed getting into the pond, it made it very difficult for life in the pond to continue as normal, and that’s the reason why we are seeing some of the fish affected in the way that they are being affected. We are hoping to reduce that in the very near future,” Humphrey said.

He told Barbados TODAY the seaweed will be removed from Wednesday.

Humphrey noted that in order to maintain the biodiversity in the pond, talks have already started regarding designing a system to capture the seaweed before it gets into the pond.

“The other solution that we are proposing for here is that we want to install some aerators that would put oxygen back in the water as a temporary solution, so as to allow the fish to breathe.

“What happened here is really the environment at play, so I don’t know that it is so much an environmental concern as it is a need for us to respect that the environment is what it is and that from time to time in these particular areas that we are going to be forced to respond,” he said.

Director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit Dr Leo Brewster explained that the Morgan Lewis Beach, which is exposed along the coastline, is susceptible to sargassum inundation. He noted that while the sea swells have been high since January, waves intensified over the last two weeks, affecting the coastline.

Dr Brewster also noted the significant increase in the seaweed littering the coastline.

“There is a weak point here at Green Pond at the mouth of the entrance to the water course, and the waves actually overtook the highest point on the beach and pushed the sargassum into the water body, and therefore that caused the stagnation of the oxygen within the waterbody.

“A lot more sargassum got pushed in here and it has actually reached pretty far inland, in terms of the amount of sargassum that was transported by the tide upstream, and that also contributed to the fish kill.

“But of great significance for us is the fact that this area here… is a freshwater ecosystem. It forms a transition point between some of the freshwater species that live here and their process of getting out to sea,” Dr Brewster said.

“And when the sea water comes in and it is trapped between that, obviously the salt water will stagnate the fresh water and reduce all the oxygen. So, in the space of three days, we have had this major fish kill down here. We now have to try and find a way to reintroduce oxygen in here and also try and release some of the water to ensure that what is in here can be released, otherwise, the impact of the fish kill will continue,” he added.

Chief Fisheries Officer Joyce Leslie said some of the dead fish will be taken away to allow authorities to identify the species affected.

Stephen Smith,  Chairman of  Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Barbados discovered the fish kill on Sunday. (anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)